Delhi govt seals borders for a week, allows salons, barber shops to open

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the state government would implement all the relaxations permitted by the Centre

After being shut for over two months, barber shops and salons were set to reopen in Delhi, but spas would remain closed, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Monday while announcing the next phase of relaxations.

Addressing an online media briefing, Kejriwal said there would also be no restrictions on the number of persons travelling in four-wheelers, two-wheelers, auto-rickshaws, e-rickshaws, and other vehicles in the city. The announcements came as the nation exited the Covid-19 lockdown in a phased manner.

The chief minister said that the Delhi government will implement all the relaxations permitted by the Centre. He said that until now, shops in markets were being allowed to open on an odd-even basis, adding that there are no such restrictions mentioned by the Centre in its latest guidelines. Now, all shops in the city will be permitted to function, Kejriwal said.

Delhi seals borders for a week

The Delhi government announced that it is sealing its border with neighboring states to contain the sudden surge in cases in the national capital. The borders will remain sealed for a week after which the government will again take a decision on the future course of action, Kejriwal said. 

Beauticians wearing PPE kits attend a customer at a parlour that was opened during the fourth phase of COVID-19 lockdown, in Kolkata

The chief minister added that the borders were being shut temporarily to allow hospitals and medical institutions in the city time to get a handle on the increase in coronavirus cases. "Delhi borders are to be sealed for the next week. Essential services are exempted. We will take a decision again in one week to open borders after seeking suggestions from citizens," he said.

Long quests at border checkpoints

Long queues of vehicles were seen at the Delhi-Gurugram border as people were not aware of restrictions on movement. "The state government announced yesterday that inter-state travel is allowed, but today they are not allowing us as we do not have any movement pass," a commuter told ANI. 

Earlier in the morning, vehicles were seen moving freely at the Delhi-Gurugram border without any checks. 

A similar situation was seen at the Delhi-Ghaziabad border near Ghazipur but the district administration of Gautam Buddha Nagar decided to seal its border. Uttar Pradesh Police officials were seen checking passes and identity cards of people entering the district at the Noida-Delhi border near Delhi's Mayur Vihar Extension area and at the Delhi Noida Direct Flyway.

As per a report of the Gautam Buddha Nagar health department, 'source of infection in 42 per cent of the COVID-19 cases in the last 20 days has been tracked to Delhi'.